Plaza de Jacinto Benavente (Madrid)

The Plaza de Jacinto Benavente, also known as Plaza de Benavente, is a large public space in the centre of Madrid, Community of Madrid, Spain.

The streets of Carretas, Cruz, Huertas, Atocha, Doctor Cortezo, Concepción Jerónima and de la Bolsa meet there. The name of the square is in memory of the playwright and Nobel Prize winner in 1922, Jacinto Benavente y Martínez, author of works such as Los inversiones creados or La malquerida.

History

The square was created in 1926 as a result of the demolition of several buildings around the Plazuela de la Aduana Vieja and the adjoining Plazuela de la Leña (later Calle de la Bolsa), including the Convent of the Calzados Trinitarians and the Almidón market. After the expansion, the palace of the Cinco Gremios Mayors built by Manuel de la Ballina in the 17th century became the property of the Banco de Isabel II, and when this bank merged with the San Carlos bank, it gave rise to the first headquarters of the Bank of Spain. At the beginning of the 21st century it houses the Directorate General of the Treasury.

At the beginning of the 20th century, one of the first cinemas in the capital was built: the Cine Ideal (at the mouth of Calle del Doctor Cortezo). In the 1950s, the building of the “Centro Gallego” was built, hence a cross was placed near the building commemorating the pilgrims who make the Camino de Santiago.

In 1998, a bronze sweeper by Félix Hernando García was added to the decoration of the square. Since the end of the 20th century, it has occasionally been used as a space for craft fairs.